When Jason and I went to Vegas a couple of years ago, one of our initial thoughts, as we looked around and saw people with children, was why in the world would anyone bring their child to Vegas?! But here we are, two years later, carrying a 14-year-old boy with us to what some would call Sin City. I thought I’d take a minute to write down how we managed to take our child to Vegas and not feel like complete and utter failures as parents. I have some budget-friendly tips that I will share at the end. I’m going to start with the positives. I’d be lying if I didn’t also include the negatives
Pro Tips:
1. I recommend staying at New York, New York. To us, it’s by far the most kid-friendly place on the strip. It’s located in a great spot on the strip and has many activities for kids, including a roller coaster, arcade and a Hershey’s Chocolate store. If you want to see how to stay there on a budget, look for that tip at the end.
2. Rent a car! Although there are kid-friendly things to do on the strip, Nevada and Arizona are absolutely beautiful states. There aren’t words to describe how breathtakingly gorgeous the mountains and desert are. Take your kids off the strip and show them God‘s beautiful creation.
Our favorite is Red Rock Canyon, which is a quick 20-minute ride from the strip. The scenery is absolutely stunning, and there are several stops along the way to get out and hike, rock climb and just take it all in. It is also a cheap venture, only costing $15 per vehicle. Don’t pass up the visitors center. It’s very cool.
Seven Magic Mountains is also a short drive from the strip. Jason was extremely unimpressed, but I thought it was neat. These boulders are much taller than they look. We saw several professional photoshoots while we were there. It’s also free!
It’s not a proper trip to Vegas if you don’t get your photo made in front of the sign. Prepare to be greatly disappointed at how small it is. There are usually people working there that you can tip to take your photo for you. The sign is located at the entrance to the strip. Do not, I repeat, do NOT try to walk there. Your legs and lungs will hate you. It’s much farther than it looks.
The West Rim of the Grand Canyon is only a two-hour drive from the strip. It is worth it! The drive alone is beautiful. Now I will advise that this isn’t a trip for small kids in my opinion. The Grand Canyon is, in fact, a canyon. There are no railings or safety measures in place to keep someone from going over the edge. My insides did flips the entire time we were there. I was the crazy mom who kept screaming at Colby that he was too close and to come back. I hugged the middle, HARD. The view is indescribable. There are two stops, and you can stay as long as you like at each one. Be prepared that it’s kind of expensive. I believe we paid somewhere around $140 for the three of us. You can also pay to do a glass skywalk, but it’s an additional $23 a person. We opted out of it and honestly didn’t feel like we missed out on anything. There are beware of cattle signs on the road into the canyon, so drive cautiously. We saw several wild cattle and the most beautiful antelope. There is also a Last Stop truck stop on the way. We spent 20 minutes there looking around and shopping. Be sure to grab snacks and drinks for the entire day. It’s called the Last Stop for a reason. You will be starving by the time you get back.
Side note: Wear tennis shoes to the Grand Canyon. One of us, who will remain nameless, wore sandals and instantly regretted it. Said person may have caused a domestic dispute because they tried to be cute instead of functional. Said person may also be a little salty over the eye roll they received from their spouse.
The Hoover Dam is located on the way back from the Grand Canyon and a very short distance from the strip. If you skip the visitor center and park in the open lot, it’s free. You can walk to not only stand in two states at once but also two time zones. You can almost hear Clark Griswald as you view the dam. It’s a must-see! If you were wondering, we didn’t find any dam bait.
Lake Mead and the Colorado River are gorgeous. You can plan an entire day at Lake Mead to swim, fish or white water raft. We were there during a historic drought. As you can see behind our heads, the water was extremely low.
3. Take your kids on the strip! It’s a lot of walking, but there is so much to see.
The M&M store is four stories tall and packed full of neat things to see. The Hershey store is directly across the street. Splurge for the huge s’more. It’s large enough to share. Colby got a legit Hershey’s chocolate milkshake. Although it was delicious, he said his Nana still has it beat.
Go to Fremont Street. If you are unfamiliar with Fremont, this is what people refer to as “Old Vegas.” There is a certain beauty to Fremont Street at night. There is a light show that begins on the hour every night. You can also zip-line across Fremont. There are people performing on the strip and bands begin to play into the evening hours. There are parking garages and lots that are fairly cheap. Eat at the Heart Attack Grill at your own risk.
Inside the Venetian is a Madame Tussaud’s. We LOVED the one in Orlando. This one is just okay. There didn’t seem to be as many figures, and the price was triple. There was a 4D Avengers movie, but it wasn’t worth the added cost. If you’ve never been to one, and have the money to splurge, then definitely go. The Venetian also has gondola rides. These are about $90 for three people. I regret not doing it, but the ride itself is only 15 minutes.
There are plenty of other things to do on the strip that are worth mentioning. There is an excellent aquarium inside of Mandalay Bay. The Mob Museum is located near Fremont Street and is a discounted price if you go after 5 p.m., and Planet Hollywood has a miracle mile full of every shop and store you can think of. Walk into each casino/hotel because they all offer some form of entertainment or beauty. The Bellagio changes its display often and is something to behold. The Caesar Forum shops have a neat virtual gaming station that Colby loved and they have a Cheesecake Factory. Ride the roller coaster at the New York, New York, and visit the arcade there as well. Spend an afternoon at the pool! This was a needed escape for us.
Spend at least one night on the strip. When the sun goes down, everything comes to life. Watch the Bellagio fountains and the Mirage volcano erupt. We aren’t Disney people, but we can relate to the feeling you get when the castle comes to life at night. It’s the same feeling you get when the Eiffel Tower comes alive and The Eye begins to spin.
When it comes to places to eat, I really only have one solid suggestion. You MUST eat pancakes at Hash House A-Go-Go. This was our second trip to Vegas and it’s the only constant thing that has been delicious. Avoid the casino buffets. They aren’t anything comparable to ours here in Mississippi. We haven’t just loved anywhere that we have eaten on either of our trips other than this one place. We ate in the New York, New York almost every evening and were very pleased. They have almost anything you could want!
Take your kiddos to see a show! There are plenty of kid-friendly shows to see on the strip. We chose MJ Live this time because the Cirque shows didn’t reopen until July. We sang along to every Michael Jackson song. There are enough kid-friendly shows to see one each night you are there. Here is a budget-friendly tip; there is no such thing as a bad seat at a show in Vegas. Buy the nose bleeds. It’s still a great seat!
If you have a moto lover in your family, don’t forget to visit the Las Vegas Harley shop.
Cons:
Ok, so here is the bad news. When visiting Vegas, there is one thing that is absolutely impossible to avoid. If you think I am about to talk about half-naked women, you can see worse at the beach. These women just wear feathers with their bikinis. They didn’t bother me. What did bother me was the overwhelming amount of marijuana that you will smell everywhere you go. Because it is legal in Nevada, there is a pot shop on every corner. The smell is just rancid, and you are consistently walking into a cloud of smoke from someone taking a drag in front of you. If your kid isn’t familiar with the smell before you go, they will be able to spot it from a mile away before you leave.
There are also many homeless people on the strip. They leave you alone, but some of it is just hard to see. There are also people handing out pamphlets with naughty things on them. They were respectful enough that when they saw we had a kid, they never approached us.
The only other negative I have is we always struggle to adjust to the time difference. We are wide awake by 6 a.m. and ready for bed by 9 p.m. It doesn’t get dark until a little after 8 p.m., so staying up late to experience Fremont and the strip was hard. No matter how hard we tried to sleep in, our bodies just never quite caught up. Correction, Colby never had a hard time sleeping in. The two adults on the other hand struggled.
Budget-Friendly Tips:
Remember how I said I would give you some budget-friendly tips at the bottom? I have a couple for you.
1. If you live in Mississippi, sign up for a free MLife Rewards account at the Beau Rivage. Go eat the buffet, swipe your new rewards card and be on your merry way. You do NOT have to gamble in order to have an MLife rewards account. This rewards card has amazing offers for Vegas since almost everything is owned by MGM. This may blow your mind, but other than a small resort fee, we didn’t pay a dime for our rooms on either trip. MLife offers comp stays for several days each month that also come with free play and resort food credit.
2. I know everyone has an airline preference, but fly Southwest. The difference in price is just phenomenal and the service is even better. If you worry about not having an assigned seat, you can pay an early bird fee of just $25 to board early. We always purchase the early bird and still come out cheaper than any other airline because your checked bag is free. You also can bundle your rental car, but we found booking straight with the company was more inexpensive.
3. There is a Walmart literally two miles from the strip. Go buy some snacks and a few drinks to keep in the room. Everything on the strip is expensive, even a bottle of water. It’s nice to have a few things on hand to keep the cost down. There are ABC stores sprinkled on the strip. They are the cheapest place to buy anything.
My last piece of advice that I want to leave you with is to dress yourself and your children for comfort. Don’t try to be cute in Vegas. Invest in good shoes, and prepare for blisters the size of a dime on your feet. We walked a total of 48 miles in 100-degree heat that week. Don’t let the heat scare you though; it’s a different kind of heat. If you can survive Mississippi summers, Vegas heat is a literal breeze. I never got so hot that I thought I would die. There is no humidity, so even on extremely hot days, it never felt uncomfortable.
If you made it all the way to the end, thank you for sticking around. We decided several years ago to begin gifting our child with experiences instead of things. I want him to see the world. I only have a few years left to travel with him before he ventures out on his own, so I wish I had started this much earlier in his life. We plan to continue traveling as much as we can. I hope I have solved any preconceived opinions you might have had about traveling to Vegas with kids, and maybe sparked an interest to go and see it for yourself. If you have any additional questions, feel free to ask!
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